A Painful Lesson
by seeimsmiling360
Summary: Tara learns something important, in the hardest way.


_**A/N**__ Sorry for not posting a story in ages! Life is crazy right now. But the idea for this story came to me when I learned about an episode in the future titled "The Funeral," and the knowledge that some favorite characters may not last. Would love to hear your comments, please leave them if you can. xoxo._

Pam turned her head to gaze at her progeny, who was staring blankly out ahead into the distance. Her smooth ebony skin was stained red all the way down her cheeks and she was quiet, barely stirring.

They were at Fangtasia, sitting on one of the lower steps that led into the dungeon. They were dressed in all black. They had sat without speaking for a while now, with Pam waiting patiently beside her.

She eventually reached over and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Tara's ears while she pondered whether to break the silence. She waited a few more moments, and then she opened her mouth.

"How are you?" she asked softly.

Tara didn't respond. But that was answer enough for Pam.

She watched her for a brief while, then extended her arm and began to stroke her hair lovingly.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you," she said faintly.

Tara's eyes flickered to the floor and she swallowed. She wasn't angry anymore. But she had been. Irate, that two of her loved ones had been ripped away from her the way they had been, and so soon. Hadn't she lost enough already?

Pam looked back on the funeral that had taken place earlier on. The arrangers were courteous enough to hold the ceremony in the evening, just past sundown. Tara was the only vampire there, except for Pam, whom she had implored to come along with her. Pam was reluctant, as she had no special connection to either of the deceased, nor did she want to be surrounded by a group of volatile and mourning humans. The world was in the midst of a brutal war and she was currently their enemy and their target.

Almost all of Bon Temps had been at the funeral it seemed like. Countless humans, and supes as well, had been slaughtered. The deaths of townspeople Tara didn't even think she cared about had still had a surprising impact on her. Jane Bodehouse. Andy Bellefleur. Kevin Ellis. Even Maxine Fortenberry. All gone.

But none of them could compare to the two whom had been taken from her. Both were family to her.

Pam had watched Tara with both of them. The first, a shifter she was vaguely familiar with, who had even been locked up with her at the Authority weeks earlier. The second, her cousin, one she knew much better. Seeing his lifeless face wracked her with guilt, as memories of their past, brutal interactions seeped into her consciousness.

Tara approached Sam's open casket and gazed down at him, her eyes conveying a heartbreaking pain and anguish. This was a man who had always been there for her. She reached down and placed a hand on his chest, admiring how they had dressed and presented him. His silver hair was perfectly combed and in array, and his face still had that adorable scratchy scruff all over his chin and cheeks.

Pam watched from afar how she touched him and how she looked at him. She knew that there was a deep history there. She wondered if they had been in love. And she realized that there was still much to learn about her progeny.

Tara had managed to retain her composure quite well at the ceremony. But when she got to Lafayette, she failed entirely. He was in a dark suit, looking clean and polished, but when she leaned down, she could see there was a deep purple eye shadow lightly gracing his lids. She had no idea who had done this, but the sight tugged at her unbeating heart so much she couldn't stand it. She stared down at him, so devoid now of his intoxicating and feisty, fighting spirit and she cried. She unashamedly let the scarlet fall down her cheeks and drip down her chin to the mossy ground. He had been her family for her whole life. And now he was gone.

XXX

"Tara," Pam murmured soothingly.

Tara blinked and returned her gaze to the back of the room.

"Come here," Pam said softly. She scooted her in an inch closer and pulled her head in so that it was resting against her chest. She held her securely, radiating nothing but love through their bond. After just a moment of feeling Pam's warm embrace, Tara's face crumpled. Her body began to shake as she sobbed and she buried her face further into Pam's bosom.

With all they had been through recently, the two of them had withdrawn their walls and ended the games they used to play long ago. Pam especially had quickly realized they were on the same side, that it was useless and exhausting pushing Tara away and pretending that she was unfeeling. They were in a middle of a devastating war and it would be silly to act as though they didn't care deeply for one another. Pam had come to fully embrace the role of mother, and it surprised her how much she enjoyed it. She would nurture and comfort Tara and have no idea where such compassion and wisdom was coming from. But it was times like these she knew Tara needed her most.

She stroked the back of her head before lightly resting her chin over her.

"It was going to happen eventually," she said calmly.

Tara's brow immediately wrinkled and she pulled away to glare at her. She stared almost petulantly, like a child, utterly offended by her maker's "words of comfort."

"It was," Pam continued, her eyebrows lifting with emphasis. "As dreadful as it is Tara, you are going to have to watch all of your human friends and family die eventually."

Pam tried to state this as gently as possible, but regardless of the delivery, it was not an easy thing to hear.

Tara peered at Pam, her brow relaxing slightly but still tense as the realization began to sink in. It wasn't that this was a new discovery for her. Of course this was going to happen. But it was the first time she was consciously processing it. There was so much else to adjust to as a vampire that this had never truly crossed her mind. She had still been saying goodbye to her own human life. And now, she was learning and understanding this lesson in the most painful way.

"They didn't deserve to die like that," Tara croaked.

"I know," Pam replied mildly.

She pulled Tara in against her, not caring that her bloody cheek was pressing into the fabric of her shirt.

"But still…" she began softly. "What would have happened otherwise?"

Tara was quiet for a moment, nuzzling her face into Pam. "Whaddayu mean," she mumbled.

"I mean… what happens when you get old? You get sick, and weak, and your body slowly starts to deteriorate. You wouldn't want to see either of them suffer like that. Lying on some hospital bed for weeks, months even, slowly getting worse with each passing day."

Tara was about to protest with the argument that they still deserved to live a long life, but Pam sensed this resistance.

"You don't know…" Pam murmured. "How fast time goes… And you'll never feel like you've spent enough time with someone you love before you're forced to say goodbye. It never feels like enough. Which is why you have to cherish the time you do have with them."

Tara drew in an unneeded breath and exhaled. Pam continued to surprise her. She knew there was a soft, deeply sensitive side to her, but sometimes, like now, she truly outdid herself.

"It's still not right," Tara breathed, closing her eyes for a moment.

"I know," Pam returned. "I know."

They sat there in silence for a while longer. Suddenly, Tara had a horrifying thought. Pam felt a sharp pang of need and fear projected through their bond and knew in an instant where Tara's mind had travelled. She moved to wrap her arms around her back and she held her close. She tilted her head and pressed her cheek over top Tara's.

"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered.

And with that, Tara reached up to drape her arms around her neck and hug her fiercely. And there the two of them remained, still and serene, in each other's arms, for the rest of the night.

And it would be just like this, for many nights to come.


End file.
